This morning, I woke to the sure sting of thin, cold air: a reminder of the encroaching winter. Dawn greeted me with a slow and languid grace at 7:19 a.m., no longer the ambitious and commanding catalyst she was for me in the summer. She takes her time now, and I resist the urge to slow down with her—there is so much to do!

As I write this, a heavy wind plucks at the leaves of the sugar maple south of my house with its immaculate fingers, making a song out of the gentle swish-patter-patter, and reminding my windchime of its unique voice. I have noticed that there is always something that seems to breathe life into the inhabitants of this universe. Like instruments in an orchestra, we are all players in this strange existence; but what is it that makes us thrum together, in harmony or dissonance?

It’s Prairie again, exploring the polarities of stillness and movement, and why we move at all.

Every time I sit to write these little snippets of my thoughts on life at Dancing Rabbit, I search for a theme to weave them together, adding in my favorite (or most memorable) moments from the last two weeks to ground them. Confession time: there isn’t always a unifying principle or thought that emerges effortlessly from my musings, so I usually have to make one up.

This time, however, I found myself marveling again and again at the power of an intangible force that moves us into action, a force that animates us into expression and brings us together with passion and enthusiasm.

Maybe it’s simply God. Maybe it’s energy. Perhaps Dylan Thomas was on to something when he wrote, “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.” I believe we are speaking of the same thing. It could be all of the words humans have attached to the undeniable mystery that is life expressed through physical form.

The word that has been popping into my mind is care.

It is a feeling that brought the inhabitants of Dancing Rabbit together on Land Clean Day in the beginning of October. Like I have mentioned many a time, there is always something to do around here. But there is nothing quite like that feeling that moves us when we work together to take care of the place we call home.

Mark and Daniel adding finishing touches on the new and improved Rickety Bridge during Land Clean.

Paths were mulched, picnic tables moved, signs repainted, bridges built, clotheslines repaired, sheds reinforced, and popcorn consumed! Christina wasn’t exaggerating about the pure excellence of a good bowl of popcorn. It really does make any day a party.

That same whirlwind of action pushed us into the final visitor program of the year, moving us to feed, teach, listen, greet, and house the next cohort of new friends we hope to make.

There is a beauty to it, as well as a sort of chaos. Though this turbulent force does not challenge my mainstream, North American conditioning regarding performance and productivity, it does call into question whether what I think is productive is actually a worthwhile endeavor; by now I have learned that if I don’t want to do something, it is quite difficult to summon the will to do it. But when my whole community says, “Yes, we care about our village and each other!” I am much more inclined to take up the same call.

Participate in a Village Council meeting on the topic of non-integrity with our ecological covenants? I’m there. Join my friends in our regular exhilarating and exhausting games of Ultimate Frisbee? You bet. Dance like a maniac to a playlist my partner, Nikki, put together in front of dozens of people? Of course! Bust my butt with Graham, Katherine, Kyle, and Alis to get the concrete pads for SubHub’s addition poured and leveled? Yup. Because I’m not alone!

Though I do not have all of the answers (whew!), I can see how nature is itself an unstoppable creature that we are a part of. When I remember that I am a part of something that is bigger than myself, I feel much more willing to throw my energy into the atmosphere with enthusiasm.

This could be one explanation as to why I still have a lot of firewood to chop. I need help connecting that project to the bigger picture of my life and the lives of all of us. That’s my theory, anyway.

My continuous goal as I navigate this world is to remember that if I care about something deeply enough, I will do everything I can to help it grow and prosper. I believe that if we all cared enough about our planet and all of the people on it, we could begin to reconcile the impact we all leave, and think creatively about how we can contribute to leaving this place and one another in better condition than when we arrived.

I’m still working on letting the wind move me in the direction I need to go. But I’m getting there. Little by little. I hope that you are too.